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I grew in a family where we were self-sustained on potatoes. We had ~250m2 plot that yielded ~1200kg every year. More than enough for a family of 6, so we gifte

I grew in a family where we were self-sustained on potatoes. We had ~250m2 plot that yielded ~1200kg every year. More than enough for a family of 6, so we gifted/sold a hefty amount too. What article doesn't cover is the amont of hard work required to sustain such garden. At least we had a two-wheel tractor that tremendously helped with planting, bushing, weeding and harvesting. Harvesting is not a final step either. You need to let it dry, clean from soil and probably sort by size to pick ones you will plant later. You need a pretty big, cold and dark storage for over a tonne of food. You need a way to transport it to your kitchen. So work spent by us only on potatoes was ~400 man hours each year.

prawn 3y ago
What sort of things were you making with the potatoes? Just to get a picture of what the family ate, and accompanied it with. Did you and any siblings find it miserable or did you cope well? How did you address disease being introduced when resowing? I usually buy accredited seed potatoes because if I sow the eyes from old potatoes, sometimes by the time I'm harvesting, I find that the inside is diseased.
- ivanjermakov 3y ago
  > What sort of things were you making with the potatoes? Just to get a picture of what the family ate, and accompanied it with. In the country I'm from potato is the main ingredient in traditional cuisine (you could try to guess what country it is): - potato in any form: baked, boiled, fried, mashed; often with cutlets/baked fish/beans and onions - various soups with chicken/meatballs and vegetables - potato pancakes[1] - some salads where potato is a main ingredient[2] I might've missed some, but in our family we basically ate boiled potatoes every dinner. > Did you and any siblings find it miserable or did you cope well? Yes, both miserable from eating it so often, and from having to help in the vegetable garden (it was forced by our parents). 8 year later, I still feel oversaturated by eating it and I consume it not very often. > How did you address disease being introduced when resowing? We collected potato beetles by hand... I still remember half-cut 1L bottles with them. Some chemicals existed at that time, but we never used it, probably because parents thought that they might be harmful for humans... > ...I find that the inside is diseased Surprisingly, not much tubers were diseased or rotten. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_pancake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_pancake [2]: https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/potato-salad-recipe-1024x1536.jpg.webp https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/p...
  - prawn 3y ago
    I assumed Eastern Europe from the name? Your weariness of potatoes is a bit like mine with pasta - grew up eating it five nights a week and got quite bored of it. My background is Slovenian, and potatoes are common for us also, though not really potato pancakes that I can remember. We had some great potato salads and soups though!
- lm28469 3y ago
  ? It's one of the most versatile thing you can grow Potato bread, potatoes galettes, gnocchis, inside dumplings, soup, gratins, mashed, baked, fried, boiled, &c. People eat pasta or rice everyday with no issues, potatoes can be used in the same way, if not more
  - prawn 3y ago
    Yes, I know, which is why I was curious about specific examples from their culture. I wasn't expressing shock that it would be used a lot.
ace32229 3y ago
When was this out of interest? And why did you do it? My back-of-an-envelope maths tells me your family worked for approximately £2 per hour, though I imagine if this was a few decades ago that would be worth a lot more.
- ivanjermakov 3y ago
  It was from mid 80s until 2015. In the early days, living was pretty poor and having a stash of food was neccesary. Later, since 00s, it was probably more of a psychological inertia to continue, although planted volumes were reduced quite a bit. I think your math is skewed to a higher end because there potato is (and probably was) significantly cheaper than in US or EU (today it is ~4 times cheaper, 0.7$/kg). Even though, considering todays mean salary there (5$/hr), 2$/hr is not that bad for such job...
  - ace32229 3y ago
    Super interesting, thanks for telling :) Where in the world was this?
    - ivanjermakov 3y ago
      Belarus

prawn 3y ago

What sort of things were you making with the potatoes? Just to get a picture of what the family ate, and accompanied it with. Did you and any siblings find it miserable or did you cope well? How did you address disease being introduced when resowing? I usually buy accredited seed potatoes because if I sow the eyes from old potatoes, sometimes by the time I'm harvesting, I find that the inside is diseased.

ivanjermakov 3y ago
> What sort of things were you making with the potatoes? Just to get a picture of what the family ate, and accompanied it with. In the country I'm from potato is the main ingredient in traditional cuisine (you could try to guess what country it is): - potato in any form: baked, boiled, fried, mashed; often with cutlets/baked fish/beans and onions - various soups with chicken/meatballs and vegetables - potato pancakes[1] - some salads where potato is a main ingredient[2] I might've missed some, but in our family we basically ate boiled potatoes every dinner. > Did you and any siblings find it miserable or did you cope well? Yes, both miserable from eating it so often, and from having to help in the vegetable garden (it was forced by our parents). 8 year later, I still feel oversaturated by eating it and I consume it not very often. > How did you address disease being introduced when resowing? We collected potato beetles by hand... I still remember half-cut 1L bottles with them. Some chemicals existed at that time, but we never used it, probably because parents thought that they might be harmful for humans... > ...I find that the inside is diseased Surprisingly, not much tubers were diseased or rotten. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_pancake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_pancake [2]: https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/potato-salad-recipe-1024x1536.jpg.webp https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/p...
- prawn 3y ago
  I assumed Eastern Europe from the name? Your weariness of potatoes is a bit like mine with pasta - grew up eating it five nights a week and got quite bored of it. My background is Slovenian, and potatoes are common for us also, though not really potato pancakes that I can remember. We had some great potato salads and soups though!
lm28469 3y ago
? It's one of the most versatile thing you can grow Potato bread, potatoes galettes, gnocchis, inside dumplings, soup, gratins, mashed, baked, fried, boiled, &c. People eat pasta or rice everyday with no issues, potatoes can be used in the same way, if not more
- prawn 3y ago
  Yes, I know, which is why I was curious about specific examples from their culture. I wasn't expressing shock that it would be used a lot.

ace32229 3y ago

When was this out of interest? And why did you do it? My back-of-an-envelope maths tells me your family worked for approximately £2 per hour, though I imagine if this was a few decades ago that would be worth a lot more.

ivanjermakov 3y ago
It was from mid 80s until 2015. In the early days, living was pretty poor and having a stash of food was neccesary. Later, since 00s, it was probably more of a psychological inertia to continue, although planted volumes were reduced quite a bit. I think your math is skewed to a higher end because there potato is (and probably was) significantly cheaper than in US or EU (today it is ~4 times cheaper, 0.7$/kg). Even though, considering todays mean salary there (5$/hr), 2$/hr is not that bad for such job...
- ace32229 3y ago
  Super interesting, thanks for telling :) Where in the world was this?
  - ivanjermakov 3y ago
    Belarus